[Hikaru does remember hitting the landing to the third floor, and thinking that this is where she should stop, where she should go out and into the hallway, back to her room. She could've kept the door shut, and locked, and nobody would come and bother her until tomorrow morning at checkout time. But she kept on going, determined to keep going, afraid of what she'd do if she stopped running... just as afraid of what she'd do if she reached the very top and found the door to the roof not bolted shut. There's such a terrible feeling welling up inside of her, thinking about that. It's like a huge boil on top of boils, with no hope of lancing it. Everything about her feels like the symptom of disease.] I know our rooms are on the third floor, [she says, then, and she sounds a little exasperated about it.] I wouldn't forget something like that. [But she doesn't explain why she's sitting on the fifth floor, her knees knocking together, her ankles throbbing. This is what she gets for running around in those high heels like a maniac. Now, Touya, with her shiny loafers, at least she's being practical about things, even if they're lame as hell. Touya isn't trying to impress anybody with how she looks because her talent doesn't need to be dressed up at all.
Every time Hikaru blinks, she's confronted with another spot on the board where she could've gained ground in the fight for territory. There's 13-2, and 7-9, and 12-9, and on and on like that, forming a constellation of mistakes she can't find her way out of. Any second now, Touya's going to bring up 12-9, probably, the most egregious of egregious falters. Any second now. Any... Hikaru looks back over at Touya, and they're sitting on the same level, more or less. Touya brought herself down to Hikaru's level in this cold, drafty stairwell to nowhere. Any second now. Except Touya's saying something about leaving her alone, or not, and that doesn't make any goddamn sense. Touya deserves the chance to rub Hikaru's face in her failure, after the hissy fit she threw around being first board.
Any second now is taking its sweet time, apparently. It's taking so long that Hikaru can't stop herself from blurting out this:] I don't want you to get into trouble. [It's going to be bad. Yeah. Obviously. But it doesn't have to be this bad for anybody but Hikaru.] If you just... like, if you went back right now, you could say you had to use the restroom, or something... the buffet gave you a wicked stomach bug, right, and... Kurata-san wouldn't hold it against you. He'd give you some leeway, since you're the only... [The only one who won any games. Hikaru can't believe somebody as gifted as Touya is stuck on the same team as an extraordinary dumbass.] You're Touya Akira, so no one's gonna give you shit.
[Hikaru, unproven, hasn't earned the same level of respect. Honestly, she's disproven herself with today's performance, and that's on top of the streak of forfeitures that's come to define her career. It's overwhelming to think about how badly she fucked up; she can't seem to breathe well or evenly, and all she's doing is sitting here, soaking in her own scared sweat. This is a marinade of nightmares and she just wants to wake up.]
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Every time Hikaru blinks, she's confronted with another spot on the board where she could've gained ground in the fight for territory. There's 13-2, and 7-9, and 12-9, and on and on like that, forming a constellation of mistakes she can't find her way out of. Any second now, Touya's going to bring up 12-9, probably, the most egregious of egregious falters. Any second now. Any... Hikaru looks back over at Touya, and they're sitting on the same level, more or less. Touya brought herself down to Hikaru's level in this cold, drafty stairwell to nowhere. Any second now. Except Touya's saying something about leaving her alone, or not, and that doesn't make any goddamn sense. Touya deserves the chance to rub Hikaru's face in her failure, after the hissy fit she threw around being first board.
Any second now is taking its sweet time, apparently. It's taking so long that Hikaru can't stop herself from blurting out this:] I don't want you to get into trouble. [It's going to be bad. Yeah. Obviously. But it doesn't have to be this bad for anybody but Hikaru.] If you just... like, if you went back right now, you could say you had to use the restroom, or something... the buffet gave you a wicked stomach bug, right, and... Kurata-san wouldn't hold it against you. He'd give you some leeway, since you're the only... [The only one who won any games. Hikaru can't believe somebody as gifted as Touya is stuck on the same team as an extraordinary dumbass.] You're Touya Akira, so no one's gonna give you shit.
[Hikaru, unproven, hasn't earned the same level of respect. Honestly, she's disproven herself with today's performance, and that's on top of the streak of forfeitures that's come to define her career. It's overwhelming to think about how badly she fucked up; she can't seem to breathe well or evenly, and all she's doing is sitting here, soaking in her own scared sweat. This is a marinade of nightmares and she just wants to wake up.]